VIDEO: New VW Amarok Takes Down a 140 Tonne Chimney

Volkswagen marked the UK launch of its new Amarok truck with a rather unusual demonstration, using four pickups to demolish a gigantic, 67-meter (220 feet) tall steel chimney weighing in at around 140 tons. To complete a job that would normally have been done by a 40-ton excavator, structural engineers and demolition experts meticulously planned the task, undertaking a series of tests to see if the Amaroks had the necessary power and traction to do the job.

The structure was prepared using a standard procedure of flame cutting a “shark’s mouth” at the base of the chimney in order to reduce its structural integrity while ensuring that it remained free standing. The cars were fitted with a “quick release” safety mechanism for the towing ropes to ensure the safety of the stunt drivers in case the structure fell in the wrong direction.

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Volkswagen Reveals Polo R WRC Racer with 300HP [Video]

After months of rumors and whispers, Volkswagen officially announced that it will enter a factory team to the World Rally Championship starting with the 2013 season. The announcement was made in Italy, where journalists had the chance to take a first look at the car VW will throw in the competition, the 300HP Polo R WRC, shown here as a prototype. Read more »

Volkswagen’s Little Darth Vader Uses the Force on the European Passat

Unless you've been living in some oddball world where the internet doesn't exist - in which case, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway (…), you’ve undoubtedly seen Volkswagen’s much praised Super Bowl commercial starring a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the new, North American-spec 2012 Passat.

Having garnered close to 40 million views on Youtube on VW USA’s channel alone, the German company decided to bring the TV spot to Europe, and specifically to the UK to promote the seventh generation of the Passat that went on sale in the country in January. Not surprisingly, the only thing the advertising agency changed in the ad was the car. The campaign aired on UK television today and will run for six weeks.

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2012 Volkswagen Beetle Filmed out in the Open in Texas

In what could be one of the first public sightings of the brand new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle outside of a motor show, Youtube user JWalters84 passed by and filmed his short encounter with the car on a road in Laredo, Texas. What was it doing there? Well, who knows, but it's safe to assume that it’s probably a pre-production model used either by dealers or by VW Group employees since sales of the third generation of the Beetle in the USA will not start until September. Read more »

Kylie Minogue Promotes the 2012 VW Golf Cabriolet in New Ad

It appears that carmakers have a love-connection with Australian pop singer, Kylie Minogue. Following a recent collaboration with Lexus for the European launch of the Lexus CT200h, the Melbourne-born star signed an advertising partnership with Volkswagen to promote the new Golf Cabriolet. Minogue has already filmed the first TV commercial for Wolfsburg's new convertible model that aired in Germany this week. Read more »

2012 VW Beetle in the Flesh with New Gallery and Videos

We reported on the unveiling of the all-new 2012 Beetle yesterday, but since then we got our hands on a slew of fresh photos shot during the presentation of the car in Shanghai, as well as in Manhattan, New York, and Berlin in Germany.

For the most part, the first reviews on the ‘less flower, more power’ styling direction of the New Beetle’s replacement in general do appear to be on the positive side, but for Volkswagen, this needs to translate into consumer spending when the car goes on sale this fall.

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Volkswagen’s Brazilian SP Coupe Turns 40 This Year [with Videos]

Volkswagen celebrates this year the 40th anniversary of the SP coupe, a car relatively unknown outside Brazil, its country of origin. Built by the company's Brazilian subsidiary in the '70s, the attractive coupe has an interesting story. In 1968 Rudolf Leiding, former CEO of Audi NSU, was appointed director of VW do Brasil, a job he accepted under one condition: to have the permission of building models adapted for the Brazilian market.

In the 1970's auto imports were blocked in South America's largest market, so Leiding thought about building a two-seat sports coupe that he believed would be successful.

Together with ‘Karmann-Ghia do Brasil’, which at the time was building the already dated Karmann Ghia coupe, Volkswagen Brazil started developing a new coupe, which had to use as many parts as possible from VW's local model range in order to keep costs low.

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VIDEOS: 2012 VW Tiguan Facelift and Golf Cabriolet Mk6

First shown in Geneva earlier this month, Volkswagen has now released video footage of its restyled Tiguan and all-new Golf Cabriolet. The short film dedicated to the compact SUV model depicts both versions of the Tiguan, one for on-road use and one with increased capabilities for off-road driving. The Golf Cabriolet video has a more laid-back, romantic approach, featuring a couple joyriding in the open top car on a sunny day. You can get a closer look at both models by watching the videos below the fold.

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VIDEO: 627 hp VW Scirocco + Sweden and Snow = Awesome!

You probably think Sweden is all about IKEA, ABBA and Volvos. Of course you do because, like me, you base all your cultural assumptions on asinine, outmoded stereotypes. Though few would be so willing to admit it, we’ve all done it from time to time, mostly when drunk off our backsides around the family barbie.

So what if I told you the Swedes – well, a few of them anyways – were big into racing stripped out, turbocharged Volkswagen Scirocco’s packing AWD and 627 hp (468 kW)? And not simply racing them but racing them on snow and ice. You heard right, and we have the video to prove it.

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VIDEO: Volkswagen's 440-horse Golf24 Endurance Racer on the Track

Last week, Volkswagen unveiled the Golf24 endurance racer with which it will compete in this year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race. This is the first time since 2007 that the Germans enter a Golf-based competition model in the event. Unlike its 300HP, front-wheel drive predecessor, the new model gets all-wheel drive and a 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine cranking out 440 ponies and 540 Nm (398 lb-ft) of peak torque. Hit the jump to see the Golf24 in action at the Vallelunga racetrack in Italy. Read more »